Recently, our sorry excuse for a newspaper put out a call for opinions on this question: Is the IMMIGRATION DEBATE TOO HATE-FILLED? Illegal immigration is an issue that has made a lot of Middle Tennesseans angry. Do you think the tone of the debate becomes so harsh at times that it qualifies as hate speech? Send your thoughts to Tennessean op-ed page and issues editor Terry Quillen at tquillen@tennessean.com.

I actually know a couple of people penning responses even as I write this. I opted out, because it was obvious to me that the Tennessean has no real concern whether or not the “tone is too harsh”, but is indeed happy to pose the question and wait for the inevitable avalanche of responses from both sides. Was it intended irony for them to list this “article” on their blog watch? How do they decide what blogs to feature? Does anyone know this? I read alot of Tennessee blogs. I think I know who the most prolific bloggers are, on both sides of almost any issue. (Thanks, in part, to Nashville is Talking and now Music City Bloggers) But I have never heard of ANY of these bloggers the Tennessean regularly features. At first, I thought, well, perhaps the editors combed through local blogs, found some obscure but well informed writers to link to on their “blog watch”, but after reading Kevin Fisher, I’m convinced this isn’t the case. First, it is so poorly written I find myself embarrassed for whatever University gave this guy a diploma, and, beyond that, it is chock-full of sweeping generalizations and jingoistic nonsense. For instance, he states:

” There is nothing(repeat NOTHING!)racist about law abiding, tax paying, flag waving Americans wishing to protect, secure and safeguard our culture, heritage and our very way of life.”

I’m always curious, what particular parts of the culture, heritage, and way of life do the undocumented people threaten? My parents, for instance, undocumented when they arrived here, worked, paid taxes, raised a family, donated to charity, and even hung an American flag on our front porch on the appropriate days. What part of the “culture” were they not participating in? Also, when Mr. Fisher speaks of heritage, what practices is he speaking of? He then tries to justify his stance by taking a stab at acknowledging that the 9/11 hijackers were not Hispanic, and neither was the “Korean shooter at Virgina Tech.” But this line gives him away:

“So, it’s unfair to disregard argument s made against illegal immigration as racist against any one particular group when we see that crimes are being perpetrated by illegals (emphasis mine)of every race.”

Um, Cho was a legal permanent resident.

Then, he says:

“Because ,my friends, our system of social benefits isn’t set up to handle the need s of some of our natural born citizens. We have people born here in America who go to bed hungry every night. We have children born here who don’t get necessary medical care, immunizations, well care checkups. We have elderly citizens having to choose between meals and medicine. We simply don’t have the resources to take care of everybody in the world.”

I had to laugh at this, if for no other reason that Mr. Fisher is a self described “Conservative activist.” Good Lord, I see us Libs have made progress getting Conservatives to acknowledge those things! Yea! But see how clever this argument is? The “illegals” are to blame for these social maladies, not myopic social policy! Theres more:

“Our Judeo Christian ethic teaches us to be compassionate about one another. ” and, “But, we as a nation, cannot afford to continue our efforts in this manner until we first “Set our house in order” (2 Kings 20:1)

Anyone want to take a swing at that? I just want to ask, whose Judeo Christian ethic? I ask because he then goes on to state this:

“America is strong because of our diversity, not in spite of it.” Indeed.

Lastly, to the Editors of the Tennessean, here’s all you need to read to answer your question, I found it in his last paragraph:

“Unless we are willing to take necessary steps, like leeches attaching to a new blood supply, illegals will continue to overrun our borders, draining valuable resources earmarked for your children and mine, paid for with our tax money. ”

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9 responses to “Asked and Answered”

Yes indeed, Mr. Fisher. Let’s close our borders. ALL of them. North, South, East and West. No one in or out.

That’s how they did it in the old Soviet Union and their excuse was the same: we have to protect our glorious nation from those leeches who would use and abuse our magnificence! And as for why no one was allowed OUT, same thing: the glorious government has invested so much money in its people, they must stay here so the nation can recoup on that investment!

Okay, I just have to insist that, if the Tennessean is going to actually have bloggers who blog for the Tennessean, that, at the least, those blogs be copyedited. Seriously, someone help that dude with basic grammar. It makes that Tennessean look shoddy when it allows that stuff posted under their banner with no copyediting.

Did you see the guy advocating that we’ll never know who should be here and who shouldn’t until we all have biometric implants?

I hate to bring up Germany, but there ought to be a movement to hunt down the history teachers of these folks and kick their butts. How anyone can think that making everyone identify themselves and rounding up others and putting them in “detention camps” ever in the history of the world ends any place good is beyond me.

Before you hunt down the history teachers, please ask the people saying these ridiculous things whether they consider themselves obligated to remember anything they were taught even a day after the end of the semester.

True story: I was teaching a Western Civ class to college freshman, and was spending the period talking about changes in ideologies (especailly nationalism) after the failure of the revolutions of 1848. And I asked: does any of this remind you of ideas in the US during the 1850s? Silence. So I asked: OK, what was the big political controversy in the US during the 1850s? More silence. Me: this isn’t a trick question or anything, it’s the obvious thing you think of. More silence. At least a quarter of the students in that class came in with AP credit in US history. That’s not the teachers’ fault; it’s failure to think.

It is said that there is this RACE problem. Everybody says this RACE problem will be solved when the third world pours into EVERY white country and ONLY into white countries.

The Netherlands and Belgium are as crowded as Japan or Taiwan, but nobody says Japan or Taiwan will solve this RACE problem by bringing in millions of third worlders and quote assimilating unquote with them.

Everybody says the final solution to this RACE problem is for EVERY white country and ONLY white countries to “assimilate,” i.e., intermarry, with all those non-whites.

What if I said there was this RACE problem and this RACE problem would be solved only if hundreds of millions of non-blacks were brought into EVERY black country and ONLY into black countries?

How long would it take anyone to realize I’m not talking about a RACE problem. I am talking about the final solution to the BLACK problem?

And how long would it take any sane black man to notice this and what kind of psycho black man wouldn’t object to this?

But if I tell that obvious truth about the ongoing program of genocide against my race, the white race, Liberals and respectable conservatives agree that I am a naziwhowantstokillsixmillionjews.

I know I’m late and all, but that was some wince-inducing bile right now. I started to formulate replies thinking he was the angry racial equivalent of a Nice Guy, but… then he went out and said it straight, and there’s just no fighting the crazy.